County commissioner accuses El Paso Health Authority Dr. Ocaranza of ‘playing down’ the virus crisis

EL PASO, Texas -- During El Paso County Commissioners Court on Monday, Commissioner Carlos Leon accused City/County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza of 'playing down' the Covdi-19 crisis during an interview on the ABC News program 'GMA 3.'

'GMA 3' anchor T.J. Holmes asked Ocaranza earlier Monday, "Forget some of the politics, do you, as a health care professional want a wider stricter shut down of businesses there in that community?"

Ocaranza responded by saying, "We all need to understand it's everyone's responsibility and the solution is in our reach, so it's not a matter of politics, it's a matter of we understand the pandemic is a not problem we can be infected."

Commissioner Carlos Leon indicated he was disappointed with Ocaranza's response saying, "I realize you’re in a tough situation, but I got to say right now is not the time to say what is politically correct." He added, "Right now we need to sound the alarm for the rest of the country, for the state of Texas to let them know how dire the situation is here."

Ocaranza agreed the situation was dire and said he was not playing down the situation.

"It's not a situation that we'd like to be recognized in the country, so we're working really hard all in the community and that's something that needs to be recognized in all aspects," said Ocaranza.

Ocaranza has been asked on several occasions whether he supports a shutdown, most recently at a news conference last Wednesday by ABC-7's J.C. Navarrete.

Ocaranza replied, "I provide recommendations to our elected officials, mayor, county judge based on the data we have and based on our professional opinion."

County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said there needs to be more consistency between local officials and the message they send out to the community.